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Helping business owners grow their companies and transition with confidence, added value and complete control.
Category Archives: Marketing and Sales
How Much Does that Gorilla Weigh?
How much does that (fill in your preferred number here) pound gorilla weigh? I always refer to an 800 pound gorilla, but I’ve heard others use everything from a 400 pound gorilla (which is pretty close to their real size) to … Continue Reading
Posted in Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Marketing, Marketing and Sales, Sales, Strategy and Planning
Tagged Baby Boomers, business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, leadership, management, marketing, new business, promotion, public relations, sales, sales management, small business, small business advice
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Good Customers Can Be Bad
When can good customers be bad? What could be wrong with a customer who buys a lot, pays promptly, and never has a service problem? They might be buying too much. No matter how strong or comfortable a sales relationship is, … Continue Reading
Posted in Building Value, Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Exit Planning, Marketing and Sales, Sales, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning
Tagged Baby Boomers, Boomer Bust, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, leadership, management, sales, sales management, selling a business, small business, small business advice
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The New Information Direction: Push Over Pull
Ever since we started using computers in virtually every business, we’ve been putting data into them. Unfortunately, the issue has been getting information back out. In the middle 1980’s I ran a manufacturing company together with a couple of Australians. They thought … Continue Reading
Posted in Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Managing Employees, Marketing and Sales, Strategy and Planning
Tagged business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, financial, leadership, management, marketing, media, new business, promotion, sales, sales management, small business, small business advice
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Help Your Friends, Not Your Competitors’
I hear it all too often. “A customer just called us for a quote. They have always done business with our competitor. We’re going to give them our best deal, and see if we can take their business.” Before you … Continue Reading
Posted in Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Sales, Sales, Strategy and Planning
Tagged business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurship, leadership, management, marketing, new business, sales, sales management, small business, small business advice, trade
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Small Businesses Fantasies: Service
As an evangelist for small business, I am the consumer equivalent of the locally-grown food movement. I spend as much of my discretionary income as possible with the owned-and-operated businesses in my area. As a consultant and coach to owners, I also … Continue Reading
Posted in Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Managing Employees, Marketing, Marketing and Sales, Sales
Tagged business ownership, business planning, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, leadership, management, marketing, media, promotion, public relations, sales, sales management, small business, small business advice
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Time to Grow Up
Young industries no longer have the time to grow up. The cycle of maturation has long been accepted as a fact of life when a new concept becomes a business. There are a few pioneers (defined here in Texas as … Continue Reading
Posted in Business Perspectives, Marketing and Sales, Strategy and Planning, Technology
Tagged business ownership, business planning, business strategy, economy, employee performance, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, leadership, management, new business, small business, small business advice, startups
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Talk to Your Competitors
In my two decades of managing over a dozen peer groups, I frequently had the opportunity to sit in meetings with a business owner who competed with a member of another Board. I occasionally had to bite my tongue as someone vilified … Continue Reading
Posted in Business Perspectives, Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Sales, Strategy and Planning
Tagged business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, hiring, leadership, management, new business, sales, small business, small business advice
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The Seventh Entrepreneurial Sin — Pride
Every business owner should be proud of his or her business. If you are the founder, you built every system, and probably landed the biggest customers. If you bought the business, you took what was in place and made it … Continue Reading
Posted in Building Value, Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Exit Planning, Leadership, Managing Employees, Marketing and Sales, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning
Tagged business ownership, business strategy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, exit planning, exit strategies, hiring, leadership, management, new business, small business, small business advice
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“Congratulations — You are the Low Bidder!”
The sentence that titles this post could be defined as the epitome of mixed emotions for a business owner. You won the business, but only because you are willing to work for less than everyone else. Perhaps you deliberately cut … Continue Reading
Posted in Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Marketing, Marketing and Sales, Sales
Tagged business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, hiring, leadership, management, promotion, public relations, sales, sales management, small business, small business advice
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The Quest for Recurring Revenue
Recurring revenue is the current Holy Grail of business. Barriers to Entry, a traditional way of assessing your differentiation against competition, have been replaced by Barriers to Exit, how to make it at least inconvenient or at most excruciatingly painful for … Continue Reading
Posted in Customer Relations, Economic Trends, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Marketing and Sales, Sales, Strategy and Planning
Tagged business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, economy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, leadership, management, marketing, new business, promotion, sales, sales management, small business, small business advice, startups, trade
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When a Customer Outgrows You
There is nothing that quite matches the excitement of landing your first really big customer. It often brings with it the confidence that comes with knowing, really knowing, that you can compete in the big leagues. There could be the added security of … Continue Reading
Posted in Customer Relations, Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Sales, Sales, Strategy and Planning
Tagged business, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, leadership, management, marketing, sales, sales management, small business, small business advice
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Never Fire a Salesperson
The majority of business owners prefer linking pay to employee performance. The sales role in most businesses is the easiest and most obvious place to begin. Yet owners struggle with compensating salespeople in a manner that is affordable while still driving sustained performance. Building … Continue Reading
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Incentives, Managing Employees, Marketing and Sales, Sales, Strategy and Planning
Tagged business ownership, business planning, business strategy, employee performance, employees, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, hiring, leadership, management, marketing, sales, sales management, small business, small business advice
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